Ratchet sets are well-known tools that are used to rotate a workpiece and fasten two objects together. For example, a user can tighten a workpiece by rotating the ratchet, and can return the ratchet to its original position by rotating the ratchet in the opposite direction, which will not rotate the workpiece. Ratchet sets are typically hand-powered, and pneumatically-powered ratchet sets are typically bulky and space consuming. Thus, a need exists for a more compact ratchet set that is powered by pneumatic or other automatic means.
Ratchet sets also include a socket that is adapted to engage a workpiece to apply torque to the workpiece. The socket can be, for example, hexagonally shaped to fit around a hexagonally-shaped head of the workpiece. When the user rotates the ratchet, the socket applies torque to the workpiece to fasten or unfasten the workpiece. Conventional sockets are interchangeable with the ratchet by including a friction fit, detent, or locking design so that the socket can engage with corresponding mating portions of the ratchet. However, this structure is difficult to adapt into a more automatic means of powering the tool other than by manual user power, because the socket is only mechanically joined with the ratchet and does not include any functional interface with the ratchet.